Conventional hinges have been used on doors, gates and cabinets for many years. In the United States and many foreign countries such hinges consist of jam-mounted hinges having two rotatably engaged hinge members which engage the door jam and the edge of the door. With this style of a hinge there are generally no adjustments, and the mounting screws and both hinge members are flush mounted in their respective surfaces and are substantially concealed between the door and the door jam when the door is closed.
Hinges are generally comprised of first and second hinge members interconnected by the means of a hinge pin for a relative pivotal movement. Once engaged and properly adjusted, the hinges maintain the door in a registered position relative to the frame in which it mounts. The first hinge member mounts to the door with hinge mounting hardware, normally wood screws for wood doors and sheet metal screws on metal doors. The second hinge member mounts to the door jam with the same hinge mounting hardware as the first hinge member.
When doors are mounted properly the door and door jam form a tight seal around the perimeter of the outside face of the door. However, when doors are not located properly or there is any shrinkage in the material or settling of the structure, there may exist too much space between the side edges of the door and the jam at the top, bottom or the sides. Conversely, improper positioning of the door may also occur when too little space between the perimeter of the door and the interior of the doorjamb is provided. This can cause improper closure and even damage to the door or door jam from the force of the door on the door jam during closure. There are other occasions when the door in the closed position is not set deep enough within the frame to form a proper seal against the jam or a seal surrounding the door jam. The resulting spaces between the door and seal often account for a draft of air entering the room and a great deal of either heat or cooling losses.
Additionally, when mounting a door it is difficult to locate the second hinge exactly in alignment with the first hinge on a two-hinge door and even more difficult to align the two additional hinges exactly on a three-hinge door. It is therefore of the utmost convenience to the user if a face-mounted hinge provides for multiple levels of adjustment and thereby allows doors to be attached and aligned for the optimum seal fit to the door jams. Such means for adjustment should maximize the amount of adjustment distance provided, as well as the increments of adjustment available to the user. This is especially helpful in the initial mounting of the door, and over a long period, to provide a means for readjustment of the door if it moves out of alignment with the jam. Further, the engagement points to initiate such adjustments should be accessible to the user without the need to dismount either hinge member.
Prior art in the area of hinges, especially for those employed in the United States, generally fails to teach or suggest easily accessible adjustment components that provide vertical adjustment of the door and a horizontal adjustment of the door for its depth when in the closed position engaged in a sealed position inside the door jam. This is generally because doors in the United States use a hinge system that requires the hinge to be recessed into the side of the door and the door jam which severely limits space for the components. Nor does prior art teach or suggest housing the adjustment components in a door mounted housing that provides easy engagement through the face place of the recess mounted housing.
With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components or steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The various apparatus and methods of the invention are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art once they review this disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other devices, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device. It is important, therefore, that the objects and claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further objectives of this invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.